ATLANTA -- Thirty years later, Hank Aaron is a bit fuzzy on
the pitch Al Downing threw that night in Atlanta-Fulton County
Stadium.
"Downing was more of a finesse pitcher," Aaron said. "I guess
he was trying to throw me a screwball or something. Whatever it
was, I got enough of it."
As the ball sailed over the left-field fence, the Hammer trotted
into history, having passed the Babe as the greatest home-run
hitter.
No. 715.
It's a figure that still resonates as one of sport's magical
milestones. Aaron would go on to hit 40 more homers before he
retired in 1976.
While 755 is the target that Barry Bonds chases, it was 715 --
struck against Downing and the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 8, 1974
-- that stands as the seminal moment for Aaron.
Babe Ruth's 714 became a relic of history, cast aside by a
quiet, black man from Mobile, Ala., who endured death threats
during his quest.
Aaron spent most of his 23-year career with the Braves, first in
Milwaukee, then in Atlanta. The team will honor the 30th
anniversary Thursday night before its game against the New York
Mets.
"Oh, it really doesn't seem like it's been 30 years," Aaron
said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Time really
creeps away from you, doesn't it?"
He's 70 now, a landmark reached a couple of months ago,
accompanied by reminders of his advancing years. Four of his seven
siblings have died. Another is crippled by a stroke. Aaron had to
give up tennis because of creaky knees.
But he still leaves the house almost every day at 5:30 a.m.,
heading to Turner Field for an hourlong workout. He enjoys a round
of golf (as long as the cart is included). He looks fit and happy,
a successful businessman who owns a car dealership and 17 Krispy
Kreme doughnut shops.
"That's why I work out every day," he joked.
Aaron doesn't spend much time watching baseball on TV -- "I
don't need some announcer to tell me if it's a fastball or a
curveball" -- but he enjoys getting out to the ballpark.
He went to see Pedro Martinez pitch. Ditto for Randy Johnson.
While Aaron played on just one team that won a World Series, the
1957 Milwaukee Braves, his only regret is failing to capture the
Triple Crown.
"Other than that," he said, "everything else was completed."
Aaron's role with the Braves -- senior vice president and
assistant to the president -- is largely ceremonial, but that hasn't
stopped him from speaking out on some of the game's most pressing
issues.
He's against putting Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame. He wants
baseball to adopt a tougher drug-testing policy. He called for more
blacks in upper management. He doesn't believe the New York Yankees
are assured of a championship just because they spend more.
"I don't think it's good for the game, but I also don't think
it guarantees a winner, either," Aaron said. "All those guys they
got are used to being the star on their ballclub. They're used to
hitting home runs and seeing their name in lights."
When it comes to steroids, Aaron would rather speak in
generalities than focus on anyone -- especially Bonds, who begins
the season with 658 homers.
"I'll just say collectively that all this talk about steroids
in baseball is bad," Aaron said. "I wouldn't want anyone setting
records if they're on steroids. But none of these guys is accused
of anything. It's just being talked about."
Aaron is dismissive of the current testing system, which allows
for a one-year suspension only after the fifth positive test for a
banned performance-enhancing drug.
"It's got to be much more serious than what we have now,"
Aaron said. And what does he remember about 715? Mostly, those who watched
him break Ruth's record.
Jimmy Carter, then two years away from being elected president,
was there on that cool night in Atlanta. So was Maynard Jackson,
the city's first black mayor. And don't forget Sammy Davis Jr.
"Those were the giants in our time," Aaron said. "I was out
there playing this little bitty baseball game ... and these guys
were coming to watch me play. I guess it must have been a pretty
big deal."
Aaron also remembers who wasn't there: then-baseball
commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who had forced Aaron to play in a
season-opening series at Cincinnati, jeopardizing his chances to
break the record in Atlanta.
Dusty Baker watched the homer from the on-deck circle, shooting
a fist in the air when the ball left the bat. As Aaron rounded
second, two young fans sprinted in from right field, startling No.
44 when they patted him on the back before racing back to the
stands in left.
"I guess that will always be a part of me running around the
bases," Aaron said. "I never had anyone run with me before. They
were just kids having a good time."
A teammate then, Baker now manages the Chicago Cubs. The passage
of 30 years hasn't lessened his admiration of Aaron's
accomplishment.
"That wasn't in the day of modern medicine," Baker said. "If
you hurt your knee or your shoulder, you were almost done. That's
what is so amazing to me, the fact that he averaged so many games.
He averaged 150 games a year for 20 years."
Aaron never hit more than 47 homers, but he reached 20 for 20
consecutive seasons. He won a batting title and averaged just 63
strikeouts a year. He led the National League in homers and RBIss
four times each.
For good measure, Aaron won three Gold Gloves in the outfield
and averaged more than 20 steals during a nine-year stretch.
Aaron didn't put up his numbers in an era of gaudy offense and
watered-down pitching. He faced Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, Juan
Marichal and Tom Seaver, Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton.
As Aaron closed in on Ruth's record, there were plenty of people
who didn't want to see a black man surpass a towering figure such
as Ruth, who happened to be white. They expressed their sentiment
with thousands of hateful letters, which Aaron has kept to this
day.
"They exist," he said rather cryptically. "Now, if someone
wrote a letter saying he didn't want me to break the record, that's
not the issue. We all have people we admire. I'm sure if someone
comes along and breaks my record, people will be saying this and
that. That's normal. But I guess I was a little bit taken aback
because of the way most of the letters were attacking me."
If someone breaks Aaron's record, he plans to be there to shake
their hand.
"It wouldn't matter to me one bit," he said. "The athletes
today, most of them, are much more superior collectively to when I
was playing. They're bigger. They're stronger. They're healthier."
Not that Aaron wouldn't have been a success in any era.
"I may not have hit 70 homers in a season," he said, "but I
would have been up there."